[Analysis of audiological features in infants with unilateral hearing loss]
Insights
Infants failing newborn hearing screening often have mild to moderate conductive hearing loss, which can improve. Severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in children typically remains unchanged.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Audiology
- Neonatal Hearing Screening
- Auditory Evoked Potentials
Context:
- Unilateral hearing loss in infants and young children presents diagnostic challenges.
- Newborn hearing screening identifies infants at risk.
- Early audiological evaluation is crucial for timely intervention.
Purpose:
- To characterize audiological profiles of infants with unilateral hearing loss.
- To identify potential causes and progression of hearing impairment.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of early diagnosis and management.
Summary:
- 105 infants with unilateral hearing loss underwent comprehensive audiological tests including Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR), 40 Hz auditory event-related potential, Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR), Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE), and tympanometry.
- Initial diagnoses revealed a majority (61.90%) had conductive or mixed hearing loss, while 38.10% had sensorineural hearing loss.
- Follow-up assessments showed improvement in mild and moderate cases, particularly conductive hearing loss, while severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss remained largely stable.
Impact:
- Findings highlight the distinct progression patterns of conductive versus sensorineural hearing loss in young children.
- This research informs targeted follow-up strategies for infants with unilateral hearing loss.
- Early identification and characterization of hearing loss types can optimize intervention outcomes.
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the audiological characteristics and possible causes of unilateral hearing loss in infants and young children. Methods:105 infants from Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Institution who failed the newborn hearing screening and were referred to the Children's Hearing Diagnosis Center of PLA General Hospital for hearing diagnosis. They were diagnosed with unilateral hearing loss and underwent clinical data collection. A full set of audiological examinations included ABR, 40 Hz auditory event related potential, ASSR, DPOAE, tympanometry. Results:①In initial diagnosis, 45 cases（42.86%） had mild hearing loss, 19 cases（18.10%） had moderate hearing loss, 14 cases（13.33%） had severe hearing loss, and 27 cases（25.71%） had severe hearing loss; Among them, 65 cases（61.90%） were conductive hearing loss or mixed hearing loss, and 40 cases（38.10%） were sensorineural hearing loss. ②83 of 105 cases had follow-up visits: 24 cases were normal, 15 cases with mild hearing loss, 4 cases with moderate hearing loss, 12 cases with severe hearing loss, and 26 cases with extremely severe hearing loss, 2 cases of hearing loss in both ears. ③From the initial diagnosis to the follow-up diagnosis, the change of mild hearing loss was the largest, followed by moderate hearing loss, severe and extremely severe hearing loss basically did not change; the number of mild and severe conductive hearing loss which recovered to normal hearing was most, the number of sensorineural hearing loss changed little. Conclusion:The infants who failed the newborn hearing screening and were diagnosed with unilateral hearing loss were mainly mild to moderate conductive hearing loss and severe to extremely severe sensorineural hearing loss. The hearing of children with hearing loss gradually improved, and severe and extremely severe sensorineural hearing loss remained unchanged.
